St. Vincent

The Aboriginal People that camped on its shores called it “Atim Osogan Sagahigan.” Translated to English from the Cree language, this means “the dog, the rump, the lake.” Renamed Vincent by the surveyor A.F. Cotton, the Oblate missionaries soon renamed the four mile long body of water Lac Saint-Vincent, in honour of the Spanish saint (and not the French holy patron of vinters). They focused their attention on populating the area with French-speaking, Roman Catholic settlers. They were aided by the appeal of rich farmland and it did not take long for the community of St. Vincent to take root around the lake. The town has since weathered the hardships that faced most pioneering communities, and modern St. Vincent encounters the same challenges and shares the same rich heritage as its French neighbours.